1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Tag for use in shoplifting deterrence and inventory control in a retail establishment.
2. Description of the Related Art
EAS tags have been used for many years as a means of deterring retail shoplifting in clothing stores, electronic stores, and a myriad of other retail establishments. Generally speaking, an EAS system will consist of a durable and reliable, yet small, sensor tag which is affixed to the article to be detected in such a way that it cannot be easily removed by a customer in the store. Usually, the system depends on the feature that the attachment mechanism is constructed such that it can only be removed by the use of a specialized tool which is only in possession of the store personnel at the checkout register or exit port for the establishment. In the event that an EAS tag is not removed from a protected article prior to exiting the store, an alarm or other signal is activated.
In order for an EAS system to be reliable, the tag must be effective in that a shoplifter will be unable to remove it within the store. In some systems, the tag is encapsulated with an ink cartridge which will open and permanently destroy the protected item and make a considerable mess in the process. In other systems, the tag is anchored with an attachment mechanism that will cause destruction of the article if it is pulled or ripped from the article. In addition, the tag anchoring mechanism must be rigid enough to withstand efforts to crack it open within the store. In short, the EAS tag must be called upon to perform reliably amid challenges by the most clever and aggressive of shoplifters.
Although an assortment of attachment mechanisms are available in the prior art, one of the more common and more successful attachment mechanisms consists of a tack which is used to physically pin the protected article to the EAS tag base. The tag base is usually constructed of a hard and durable plastic and is generally in the neighborhood of three inches long. The tag serves as a housing for an electronic signal generation means secured within the housing, and which is designed to be immune to tampering. The security system is further characterized by one or more system receiver/transmitters which generates an interrogation zone in the general vicinity of the exit door to the retail establishment. The interrogation zone is usually defined by the installation of a pair of transmitters on each side of the exit doorway. When an EAS tag is moved into or through the surveillance zone, the electronic transmitter within the EAS tag will cause a signal to be generated which will be received by a system receiver to indicate that an unauthorized presence of a tagged article has been detected within the interrogation zone. Accordingly, alarms may sound or personnel may otherwise be alerted to the event such that the shoplifting can be thwarted at the exit port of the retail establishment.
Most of the tack-based EAS tags are constructed such that the tags which are removed at the checkout register may be re-attached to other merchandise for reuse. In general, the tack of the EAS tag may only be removed through the operation of a specialized detaching mechanism by store personnel. In some such systems, the detaching mechanism includes a probe which is inserted within the EAS tag to trigger a release latch located deep within the interior of the EAS tag and generally beyond the reach of foreign objects which could be used by a shoplifter, such as safety pins, pencils, wire probes, and the like. In other systems, magnetic detachers are used that have a magnetic strength from anywhere between 150 to 750 Gauss. These systems use a magnetic force to release the pin or tack from a clutching mechanism. Both magnetic and mechanical detachment systems are popular in retail establishments today.
In the patent art, electronic security tags have claimed a variety of specific forms and constructions over the years, and a wide assortment of attachment mechanisms have been claimed. An EAS tag featuring a tack which is releasably retained within the tag housing is generally well known in the art although the tack retention and release means have been the subject of numerous innovations. One such tag that has been commonly used in prior art systems is that claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,419 by Nguyen et al., entitled “Security Tag Having Arcuate Channel and Detacher Apparatus for Same”. The Nguyen tag is comprised of a tack and a tag body. The tack shaft is inserted through a pin hole in the tag body and the tack is retained within the tag by a clutching mechanism. In order to release the clutching mechanism, a specific arcuate-shaped detachment tool must be inserted through an opening in the end of the tag. The opening within which the disengagement probe must be inserted features an arcuate channel which leads from the opening to the release trigger for the clutching means. The arcuate probe and channel provide a measure of security since it would be difficult for a shoplifter to insert a foreign object having the proper shape into the tag for release of the clutching means. A similar tag construction is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,914 by Nguyen et al. wherein an EAS tag is releasably attached to the protected item with a spring clamp and a tack which is clamped to the tag body using a clutch-lock assembly. The detaching mechanism includes a probe adapted for insertion into the tag along with a drive means and timing means for controlling the energization of the drive such that it properly engages the release mechanism for the clutch-locked tack or spring clamp. Although novel in many respects, the Nguyen devices require yet another expensive detachment device which complicates the checkout area in the retail establishment. Multiple styles of detachment operation systems require too much space from the perspective of the retailer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,400 B1 by Rand et al. discloses a security tag consisting of a security anchor with a central aperture. A security wire is threaded through the aperture in the anchor and is held securely. A PC board which includes a presence-detection diode is connected to one end of the security wire. Although perhaps effective as a shoplifting deterrent, the Rand mechanism is quite cumbersome and labor intensive to install and utilize.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,255,950 B1 by Nguyen discloses a tag assembly wherein the tack is modified to include a biasing structure such as a compression spring oriented within a tack assembly housing. The biasing structure serves to move the tack head and tack between an extended position and a retracted position. In the extended position, the tack extends from the aperture in the tack housing and can be pushed through the article and into the receiving aperture of the security tag. In the retracted position, the tack is positioned entirely within the tack housing such that the point of the tack is not exposed and therefore cannot cause injury to store personnel or others.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,373,390 B1 by Hogan et al. entitled “Electronic Article Surveillance Tag Having Arcuate Channel” features a tag body with an arcuate channel wherein an arcuate shaped detaching probe is used to release a tack from the security tag housing. The structure includes a spring clamp mechanism which provides the resistance to hold the shaft of the tack in place within the tag housing. The improvement disclosed by Hogan is the inclusion of an abutment means within the arcuate channel such as to prevent the insertion of a wire into the channel for contact with the releasing means. In general, the abutment means consists of a rigid planar abutment within the detachment channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,117 B2 by Okuno entitled “Anti-Theft Device” features a clamp member for clamping the pin of an attachment tack within a pinhole of the tag body. The tag body further houses an on/off switch which is to be depressed by a button on the attaching member and further features a theft alarm operable under the controls of on/off signals from the on/off switch. Such a system is unnecessarily complicated and is not as durable or universal as a purely passive mechanism for retaining a tack shaft within the tag housing.
In general, the prior art devices suffer from a number of drawbacks that limit the applicability of the device. In some cases, the tag article is too complicated to install or remove. In other cases, the tag article is too easy to defeat. Also, many articles require a specific detachment mechanism that is unique for that style of tag, requiring the retailer to purchase additional equipment for each checkout counter, and none of the prior art tag articles can be removed by either a magnetic detacher or a probe-style detacher. The present invention overcomes those obstacles.